Shubman Gill set to return as captain in Vijay Hazare Trophy: Report

Omitting the vice-captain from the T20 World Cup 2026 was a huge call made by the Ajit Agarkar-led selection panel. BCCI announced the T20 WC squad without Shubman Gill, who was the vice-captain during the India vs. South Africa T20I series.

The elite ICC tournament is scheduled to start in February 2026. As Gill is not in the squad, he can feature in the Vijay Hazare Trophy (VHT), which will start on February 24, 2026. Now, it is quite possible that the batter, who is still the captain of team India in the Test and ODI formats, can play the Vijay Hazare Trophy 2026 for his state team, Punjab.

According to the latest updates, the 26-year-old can be appointed as the captain of the Punjab cricket team for the prestigious domestic tournament. The cricket governing body of Punjab is yet to announce the squad for the contest, but it is also claimed that the conversation to appoint Gill as the leader of the team has already been initiated, but the final call is yet to be made. On February 24, Punjab will face Maharashtra at the Anantam Ground in Jaipur. 

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Shubman Gill can appoint as captain of Punjab for the Vijay Hazare Trophy 2026 season

During the 2018-19 season of VHT, the top-order batter was at its peak. In 7 matches for Punjab, the right-hander scored 418 runs at an average of 59.71. 

If we look at the Indian squad for the T20 World Cup, in the absence of Gill, Sanju Samson can be an automatic opener for the team to pair up with Abhishek Sharma. During the recently played India vs. South Africa 5th T20I match, the opening pair of Samson and Sharma worked nicely for the Men in Blue brigade.